Blue Jays continue trend with 'athletic' pitchers on Day 2?

TORONTO -- Everyone has a type. Even in the MLB Draft, where clubs go to great lengths to keep their plans top secret, there’s always a clue or two.

For the Blue Jays, look to the language they use. When Toronto discusses young pitchers, from general manager Ross Atkins to pitching coaches at the lower levels, the first words you’ll hear are “athletic delivery." The first time you hear that, it doesn’t mean much. By the 100th time, you start to notice.

• Draft Central | Draft Tracker | Bonus pools & pick values | Day 2 analysis

The Blue Jays targeted exactly this with their picks in Rounds 3 and 4 Monday, which were Toronto’s second and third picks after losing a selection for signing Chris Bassitt. After landing 21-year-old Juaron Watts-Brown 89th overall, the Blue Jays went back to the high school level to draft Landen Maroudis at No. 121.

• Blue Jays select Arjun Nimmala with No. 20 overall pick

You’re looking at a pair of 6-foot-3, 190-pound right-handers, and while Maroudis is four years younger with a commitment to play NCAA ball at North Carolina State, these two represent what the Blue Jays like in pitchers and where they want to go next as an organization.

RHP Juaron Watts-Brown (Round 3, 89 overall)
Coming out of high school, Watts-Brown was a multi-sport athlete who starred in football and basketball alongside baseball. He was originally committed to Texas Tech, but injured his shoulder while playing quarterback and ended up attending Long Beach State before transferring to Oklahoma State.

That athleticism has stuck with him on the mound.

“He starred in the Cape Cod League last season, then he led the Big 12 in strikeouts and strikeout rate this year,” said MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis. “A little bit of an inconsistent spring, but he’s got a great slider. It’s his best pitch, by far, at 83-86 mph, and people chase it out of the strike zone.”

That “athletic” tag can be vague, but what it points to is a fluid, natural delivery that the pitcher is comfortable in. Bo Bichette’s swing might not be pulled out of a hitting guide, for example, but it’s “athletic” because it’s built from movements which come naturally to him and allow him to adjust on the fly. Natural, athletic deliveries aren’t overthought or jerky. It’s what drew the Blue Jays to Brandon Barriera in 2022 and is what excited them most about No. 7 prospect Sem Robberse.

Watts-Brown’s fastball sits near 93 mph and doesn’t miss as many bats, making it possible he develops into a “slider-happy reliever," as Callis put it, but there’s plenty of potential to unlock at the Blue Jays’ shiny new player development complex.

RHP Landen Maroudis (Round 4, 121 overall)
Maroudis played shortstop in high school, too, showcasing his “super athletic” profile. He starred on the mound, though, in a stacked rotation.

“The athleticism really plays on the mound,” said MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo. “He’s got a chance to have three really good pitches. His fastball has been up to 95-96 mph early in the spring, but it did come back a couple of mph because playing shortstop is hard while you’re also pitching. There’s good ride and spin, and he’s got a very good changeup which is probably his best secondary pitch.”

A new era of Blue Jays pitching prospects
Betting on athleticism as a core train is the Blue Jays’ first move. Their second move is cranking up that athleticism, and both Watts-Brown and Maroudis have room to bulk up their frames.

“You can point to Ricky Tiedemann as somebody we saw pretty immediate gains with,” said director of scouting Shane Farrell, “just getting him into a more diligent routine and program. To really take off, a lot of that was done just based on physical gains.”

The Blue Jays are now chasing higher outcomes with pitching development, accepting the risk of a lower success rate as they reach for star-level talent. An athletic delivery, in basic terms, leaves more doors open for the Blue Jays to explore as they try to add velocity, add pitches or even change the shapes of existing pitches.

This is why the Blue Jays have worked to have their Draft staff and player development staff work together more than in the past. The Blue Jays want to add players to their system that they genuinely believe they can develop based on this organization’s own strengths, and at the top of that list is a belief that they can unlock more upside from athletic pitchers.

Watts-Brown and Maroudis are two more big bets on that.